


Captain America: The First Avenger AU - Clifan

by Lica_K



Category: Captain America (Movies), Death Stranding (Video Games), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom
Genre: Au captain america, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:41:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28091835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lica_K/pseuds/Lica_K
Summary: Basically the story of Captain America's first movie if Dylan was Steve and Cliff was Bucky. Other characters have also been changed with the characters that are part of the Death Stranding universe (plus the original characters that are related to Dylan).
Relationships: Clifford Unger/Dylan Ethan Wright, Die-Hardman & Clifford Unger, Dylan Ethan Wright & Amber Elizabeth Wright & Ryan Bruce Wright, Dylan Ethan Wright & Gael Neeson, Gael Neeson/Ryan Wright
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Captain America: The First Avenger AU - Clifan

The first time the two interacted with each other was when Cliff was 7 & Dylan was 5. They had been in the same kindergarten for some years but never played together because of Dylan's fragile health. Despite this, Dylan was never alone, always together with his older sister & brother.

Cliff remembers thinking while seeing the Wright brothers together that they were different from other kids & how lucky Dylan was to have brothers like them. He also remembered being jealous & asking his parents why he had no brothers. Cliff was sure he would be a great big brother.

Then one day for some reason Dylan was completely alone sitting under a tree away from where the other kids were playing tag. He looked sad even while eating his sandwich. Maybe it wasn’t his favorite flavor, Cliff thought as he watched him curiously sitting on the high branch of the tree.

Some of Cliff's friends approached where Dylan was sitting & asked if he had seen Cliff. Dylan shook his head negatively before turning his attention to the technology book he always carried with him. When the other kids left Cliff thanked him. He wasn't in the mood to play with friends.

Dylan said there was no reason to thank him since he really didn't know that Cliff was up in the tree before. They were silent again until Cliff asked where his brothers were and Dylan replied that they were busy. Dylan asked why he was hiding from friends and he replied that he wasn’t.

This first conversation between them was basically filled with questions & answers, as they still didn't know exactly how to interact with each other. Seeming to lose interest in his book, Dylan looked up & asked if the view from where Cliff was was better than where he was.

Cliff's affirmative answer was enough to make Dylan decide to try climbing the tree, even if this was something he never tried before, much less in the presence of his brothers. At first, Cliff said nothing because he thought Dylan would give up after a few attempts just like the other kids who have tried to do the same.

But he soon realized that Dylan was nothing like the other kids and he didn't easily give up on something he had put in his head that he wanted to do. After all, he was a stubborn child. Starting to worry about his safety, Cliff tried to convince him to stop since he could end up getting hurt, but Dylan ignored him.

After several attempts, Dylan finally started to actually manage to climb the tree slowly despite his short stature compared to Cliff. He even started to smile when he realized he was almost getting to where the other was and Cliff unconsciously smiled along with him. This ended up distracting Dylan enough to make a mistake when he held on to a weak branch that broke with his weight.

Dylan would surely have fallen and hurt himself badly if Cliff hadn't held his hand thanks to his good reflexes, pulling him up on the same branch he was on. The two children were taking a deep breath recovering from the shock they just had, but soon after they started laughing together.

"Please don't try to do this again" Cliff asked with his hand on Dylan's shoulder. "You thought I couldn't do it, did you?" Dylan questioned boldly "So I had to prove you wrong". Upon hearing this, Cliff laughed again and said "You are crazier than I thought, Wright"

And just like that the two became friends, even though everyone thought they had too different a personality to get along the way they did. Cliff liked very much Dylan's brothers and Dylan didn't like Cliff's friends that much (although he never said it out loud).

Cliff has always had the facility to make friends thanks to his friendly and gentle personality, but he never felt he had a best friend until he met Dylan. Dylan was not like the other kids Cliff talked to and played with, he was something else. Something more. Something special.

When he was with Dylan, Cliff felt like he could be completely honest, be himself without being afraid of being judged or disapproved because Dylan would never do that to him. They didn't lie to each other, even when they were sad or angry about something. They also told each other things they didn't say to anyone else, as if it were a secret between them alone.

Despite liking and having fun with his other friends, Cliff knew that they were not Dylan. Because he didn't miss them when they were away, nor did he worry about sharing his lunch with them or even asking them to sleep at his house.

For Cliff, Dylan was his best friend, someone who he would always be by his side and whom he would protect no matter what. Even with his fragile health, Cliff knew that Dylan was one of the strongest and most stubborn people he had ever met. And he loved that about him.

~ x ~

Dylan knew Amber would kill him if she found out what he was doing, but at the same time he also knew himself well enough to know that he cared little about it when more important things were at stake. Trying to enlist again despite his clear fragile health (something that irritated him more than anything in this world) seemed like a great idea until receiving again the stamp denying his enlistment on his file. He was starting to hate that fucking stamp.

To try to improve his mood, Dylan decided to see a movie that was showing at the cinema, however unfortunately he ended up meeting idiots who seemed to be unable to shut up and respect other people who just wanted to watch the movie. The three idiots clearly underestimated him by agreeing to take the argument (fight) to the alley behind the cinema.

  
  


Most people underestimated him when they put their eyes on him, especially when they saw him coughing after running faster than his body could handle and obviously these idiots wouldn't be the last to do that. What almost nobody knew was that despite all this, Dylan knew how to fight better than most thanks to the lessons he received from his brothers.

  
  


Fighting three idiots like these wouldn’t be complicated if Dylan paid attention to three simple rules: being more intelligent than them (that was easy), not being carried away by his emotions (this was usually more difficult) and mainly ending the fight quickly before his body starts to reach the limit.

Dylan easily managed to make the three fall to the floor before he had to lean his back against the nearest wall trying to catch his breath. Distracted trying to breathe, he ended up not realizing that one of the idiots hadn’t become incocient and was now angrier than before, already starting to move towards him to punch him if someone had not held the idiot by the arm.

"It looks like you forgot one, Wright" said a very familiar voice before he heard the sound of a bone being broken along with the cry of the idiot, who was now lying on the floor with a broken arm "What have I told you about buying fights just because you're in a bad mood?"

Finally catching his breath, Dylan lifted his head to look at the man in front of him who started to smile when their eyes met, as he always did when that happened. He was wearing a military uniform that Dylan had never seen him wear before (which should mean he got promoted).

  
  


"You didn't need to break his arm" Dylan said, pulling his back away from the wall and adjusting his clothes. "And what exactly do you think would have happened to your nose if he had managed to punch you?" questioned Cliff, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

The two friends continued the conversation elsewhere before they ended up getting into trouble because of that fight. Cliff said he had been promoted to captain and Dylan mentioned that he had tried again to enlist even though he knew that his friend would look at him with a reproachful glance when he heard that.

"You know it's a crime to lie to the army, right? Not to mention that your sister is going to be really mad at you" said Cliff with both hands in the pockets of his pants "As much as it would be a pleasure to be able to fight this war with you by my side, we both know that the battlefield is not a place you can go, Dylan."

  
  


"You are the last person I want to hear saying that, Cliff" snapped Dylan in an upset tone "It feels wrong. Staying here while you, Ryan and Amber (she was a nurse) are doing your part in this stupid war." despite hearing his friend's laughter, he continued to say "Perhaps there will come a time when they are desperate enough to enlist someone like me."

"That's what I'm most afraid of" commented Cliff in a low tone "But let's not fight over it again" putting his arm around Dylan's shoulders, he pulled him closer "This is my last day here with you, so let's make the most of it" taking a folded paper out of my pocket, offered it to his friend "How about we go to that tech fair you wanted to go to and probably forgot because you was too distracted fighting with idiots in alleys?"

  
  


If there was one thing that always made Dylan in a good mood easily, it was things related to technology and electronic machines that still seemed to be nothing more than dreams that could only be achieved in the future. Cliff liked to say that Dylan was just like those geniuses who had been born at the wrong time.

Seeing the presentations and the new ideas exposed at this fair with Cliff was being so much fun that Dylan almost forgot about the war and the possibility that something could go wrong and he would never see Cliff or Ryan again. Honestly Dylan had no interest in the war, but the possibility of losing two of the most important people in his life while he was here was painful. It made him feel weak and useless.

With that in mind, he once again thought about trying to enlist because the worst thing that could happen was they refusing him (a voice in his head said the real worst thing that could happen was he being arrested, then he really would never see Cliff again because he would be dead by Amber's hands), but he was caught by the friend.

The two ended up arguing right there without caring whether others might be watching or listening. It wouldn't get them anywhere because they were both too stubborn to realize that the truth was that they didn't want to separate because the countries were destroying each other in a stupid war.

  
  


"I think we both need time to clear our heads" said Cliff sighing tiredly "I need a cigarette and you need coffee" after saying that he took some coins out of his pocket and put them in Dylan's hands, not giving opportunity for him to refuse "I always pay at our dates, right?” said quietly, clear enough that Dylan was the only one to hear "Buy some good coffee with this and try to think what it would mean if you could enlist" his voice was more serious, despite remaining calm "I prefer to think of you safe here while I fight there and I promise I'll take care of Ryan and make sure he doesn't get in trouble" Cliff smiled as the two stared at each other "And I'll be back no matter what."

Cliff started to walk away already taking his cigarette pack (he was very careful not to smoke near Dylan) and was about to put one of his cigarettes between his lips when he heard Dylan call him. "I think then you should end this war before I can enlist, right?" replied Dylan, in that audacious tone that only he was capable of and that Cliff was amused to hear more than he would like to admit.

  
  


"Crazy nerd" Cliff came back in quick steps to hug him, easily forgetting that they had just argued with each other. "Stupid captain" said Dylan, hugging him back before they had to walk away "Be careful, okay?" Cliff looked at him with a cheeky smile and replied "I always do" Dylan laughed and said "No, you don't."

  
  


Dylan continued to watch his back until Cliff disappeared into the crowd.

When trying to enlist this time, Dylan ended up meeting Dr. Bridget, who offered to help him enlist if he agreed to participate in an experiment that would make him healthier and stronger. He naturally found that proposal too good to be true, but if it meant he could finally fight alongside Cliff and Ryan, then he would accept.

Since Dylan and Cliff had lived in the same apartment from the day Dylan finally managed to leave his parents' house, they ended up meeting there hours later and before Dylan had the opportunity to tell Cliff the news, the two were distracted by the kisses and touches they started exchanging almost immediately after Dylan entered the apartment.

It had been so long since the last time they did that (never in public, because it was forbidden) that none of them seemed willing to do anything other than go to the bed they shared and forget even that the world existed while feeling each other's skin and warmth.

Cliff's kisses tasted the same as the first time they kissed when they were still teenagers, surprised and happy when they realized that their feelings were reciprocated. It was a mix between the taste of the cigarette and mint, as Cliff thought that the taste of the cigarette could harm Dylan's health and so mint candy was necessary if they were to kiss.

"I forgot to say something earlier" Dylan said as he felt Cliff leave sweet kisses on his neck "I loved your new uniform" and then he pulled Cliff by the hair and sealed their lips almost forgetting that his lungs could not stand to stay long without receiving oxygen. "Did that make you fall in love with me again, D?" he teased with a seductive tone of voice, pulling away their mouths, already knowing that Dylan had a bad habit of forgetting his own limits. 

Instead of responding to the provocation, Dylan pulled Cliff's body closer to him, placing his leg around his waist. The two laughed before exchanging some more sweet kisses, while their hands explored the length of the other's body. "I'm going to miss you so much" the words were said before Cliff could suppress them. Dylan put both hands on Cliff's face "I will miss you too. Every day" he allowed himself to show some of his weakness just as Cliff was showing him and then they kissed again, this time more intensely making their tongues meet inside their mouths.

Before falling asleep with his arms around Cliff, Dylan heard his friend ask him what he wanted to tell him before. Bridget had said that he would be one of the candidates to participate in the experiment which meant that he would have to compete for the position. 

Although he didn’t think he would lose to anyone, Dylan couldn’t deny to himself the possibility that he could not be chosen and consequently would not fight in the war. "I'll tell you the next time we meet" was what he opted to say before closing his eyes and feeling the comfortable warmth that Cliff's body produced in contact with his.

Upon waking up the next morning, Dylan noticed that Cliff was already gone because he obviously hadn't been able to wake up early enough to be able to say goodbye. "Fuck" he cursed, puting his face on the pillow and went back to sleep feeling no desire to get up, as he already missed Cliff.

~ x ~

Finally dressed in military clothes, Dylan felt a certain pride in himself as he looked in the mirror and laughed at the thought of what Cliff would say if he could see him like this. As he had imagined, military training especially for candidates for the experiment to create the perfect soldier was basically a series of physical exercises that should take them beyond their limits.

  
  


Another thing that Dylan already expected to happen was the fact that he didn’t get along with any of his colleagues, always staying focused on tasks and exercises, or at least that was what he did until he met British agent Gael Neeson.

  
  


Neeson looked too beautiful to be a military man, much less to be an agent, but Dylan realized that he was much more intelligent than he appeared to be. And annoyingly insistent on starting conversations even when Dylan did his best to ignore him. The problem was when Neeson started talking about things that Dylan agreed with or was interested in deepening the conversation, especially when it came to technology.

  
  


In addition to being a military man and agent under orders from the Queen of England, Neeson was also a kind of inventor (almost as a hobby) who was helping Americans with his intel and some inventions for military use.

With the end of the training, Dr. Bridget came to Dylan so that the two could have a conversation before they had to go to the place where the experiment would take place. The doctor said she had chosen Dylan because he reminded her of her daughter. Apparently her daughter has also had health problems since she was born and Dr. Bridget tried to use the serum to make her healthy, but unfortunately she ended up losing her forever.

"You see, Dylan, the serum amplifies everything. So what’s good becomes great, but what’s bad becomes worse" she explained adjusting her glasses, with a gentle smile "And when I look at you, I see someone who knows what it is like to suffer from the limitations of your body and who puts the lives of the people you care about before your own. I see a good man that with a little help can even end this war"

  
  


Despite being grateful for her words, something he thought he would be happy to hear his mother saying and that he knew it would never happen, Dylan tries to be honest with her by saying that he doesn't see himself as a good man. He was selfish (the fact that he accepted to be part of an experiment so that he could fight in this war), stubborn (that wasn’t an ideal quality for a soldier) and the last thing on his mind would be to save lives that didn’t belong to the people who were important to you.

"Nobody is perfect, young man, and it would be very wrong of me to expect that from you" she confessed and then explained more or less what the side effects would be if the experiment went according to expectations.

The experiment was carried out by Dr. Bridget with the help of Gael regarding the electronic equipment that would be used. It worked because Dylan now feels healthy in a way he never has. Gael jokes that it looks like he grew up to a few centimeters. Nobody expected an enemy to infiltrate, who ends up shooting Dr. Bridget and trying to escape with the serum if Gael hadn't stopped him. The serum is lost and the enemy commits suicide by swallowing a capsule. Dylan tries to save Dr. Bridget, taking her to the doctors, but unfortunately she doesn't resist and passes away.

Instead of being accepted to join the rest of the army, Dylan is put aside by Major Campbell's orders and to help Gael in the part of creating technologies that could bring advantages to their side in this war. It would be a lie to say that Dylan doesn’t like working with Gael in the manufacture of weapons and military items, but his mind cannot stop thinking about Cliff and Ryan. What if they needed help and he was wasting his time there? How was this different from expecting news from them if he had never participated in the experiment?

  
  


Dylan was doing target practice when Gael came running and making a strange expression that made Dylan reluctantly ask what had happened. Apparently the unit that Cliff commanded had been hit badly by the enemy and the men who didn’t die were captured by the enemy. Worst of all apparently there was no rescue mission.

In the next instant, Dylan was in front of the Major demanding to know if the names of Cliff or Ryan were on the casualty list. He didn't care about the look Major Campbell gave him because of his insubordinate actions, all that mattered was whether they were alive or not.

  
  


Dylan was relieved to know that the names were not on the list, but then that meant they had been captured by the enemy and the Major informed there would be no rescue mission as he could not put the lives of all other men on a suicide mission in the enemy's territory.

"Captain Unger knew exactly what he was getting into and I know he would rather die than cause the death of more of his comrades, especially you, Mr. Wright" the major said in a serious, tired tone "Don't think you are the only one who cares about him, but this is a war and I have to think of the great picture here" Dylan was surprised to learn that the major was a close friend of Cliff's grandfather.

"With all due respect, sir. Fuck all that" before Dylan could hear his superior shouting at him, he came out of the tent in quick steps realizing that he was being followed by Gael only when he put his hand on his shoulder forcing him to face him. Dylan made it very clear that he wasn’t going to change his mind and was confused when Gael said that this wasn’t what he was trying to do, but that perhaps it would be smarter for them to go by plane than to walk by foot on enemy territory.

The two take the necessary equipment, steal a plane and set off towards enemy territory, clearly going against higher orders. Since Gael would have to fly the plane without being able to accompany Dylan, he gives him a device that would inform him where he is so that Gael would send the cavalry to help him escape from there.

Adding this to his list of the stupidest things he's ever done in his life, Dylan gets off the plane and enters enemy territory, trying his hardest not to draw attention to himself as he makes his way around. After silently killing some enemies, Dylan manages to enter the building and find where the prisoners are being held. It is a relief to find Ryan with the other men, but he can't find Cliff and therefore asks where he is to his brother.

  
  


Ryan makes that expression he usually does when he doesn't want to give bad news, but Dylan ignores it and tells his brother to take the rest of the men out while he goes looking for Cliff because he isn't going anywhere until he finds him.

Dylan ends up finding Cliff tied to an operating table looking more tired and bewildered than he had seen him before and it almost breaks his heart, but he is alive. Cliff smiles when he recognizes him, only to be immediately confused by his presence there. Dylan promises that they will talk after they get out of there.

  
  


While the two fled from there by the only exit that had not been bombed by the enemy, they ended up facing a strange man in a mask and a woman wearing a lab coat with a face very similar to Dr. Bridget. The masked man introduces himself as Higgs and says it is a pleasure to finally meet Dylan, as he has admired his technological work for some time now. He also said that they had used the serum on him too, but unfortunately he had suffered some side effects (which justified the mask).

  
  


The stranger masked would probably have continued his meaningless speech if the woman in the lab coat hadn’t blown the path between them and said they didn’t have time for that. With great difficulty, Dylan and Cliff managed to get out of there without dying and returned to the camp with the rest of the men.

  
  


After making all the necessary reports for the major (who was clearly still furious with Dylan and Gael, but happy with the men and especially Cliff's return), Dylan and Cliff finally had time to talk alone inside the tent they would share thereafter. "So this is what you wanted to tell me?" Cliff commented analyzing Dylan from top to bottom.

Dylan explained everything that had happened since the time they had separated until today, surprised to see Cliff listening to everything in the greatest calm and without interrupting him even once. When he finished, the first thing Cliff asked was if it had hurt him. Dylan hadn't stopped to think about it since the day of the experiment, but now that he did he remembered that he had thought for an instant that he could die of so much pain, but that didn't compare at all with the feeling he had at thinking that Cliff and Ryan might be dead or worse.

  
  


"I would have gone through it all again if it meant saving you and Ryan" was Dylan's reply, knowing what Cliff would understand. Without saying anything else, Cliff put his hands over his face, finally smiling and looking relieved, before kissing Dylan and saying he was very glad to see him.

~ x ~

Dylan continued to fight in this war, but not because he wanted to fight for the country or anything noble. He wanted to continue helping Cliff and Ryan, protecting them whenever he could. They even ended up meeting Amber on their way to the country where her group of doctors and nurses were working. She was really happy to see them all alive, but almost had a heart attack when Dylan told about the experiment he participated in.

  
  


Now that Dylan was part of Cliff's unit, he started to relate and befriend some of Cliff's men. The group consisted basically of 4 men, excluding Cliff and Dylan: Ryan, John (Dylan did not get along with him at all), Henri (funny man who soon Dylan became attached) and Gregory (the youngest and whom Cliff said he remembered a lot Dylan himself).

  
  


Since Gael would also help them on certain missions, Dylan introduced him to everyone and realized that he and his brother became friends very quickly. The same could not be said about Cliff. Cliff was jealous of Gael (especially when he saw the friendship they shared) and Dylan can't help but have fun watching him be like that.

  
  


"You worry unnecessarily, Cliff" commented Dylan one day when Cliff was clinging to Dylan in the bed they were sharing more than usual "He’s just a friend and if you had paid attention you would see that Gael are far more interested in Ryan than on me"

"You still don't know how handsome you are, Dylan" Cliff started kissing the back of his neck "I know you noticed too the way people look at you now that you're different from before" Dylan laughed and made their hands intertwine over his belly. "So what? They are not you." Cliff kissed his head before saying "You have a peculiar way of flirting."

Just as Dylan was no longer who he was before he agreed to participate in the experiment, neither was Cliff the same man who had said goodbye to his best friend by kissing on his head while sleeping in their bed before going to war. No matter how much people tried to embellish the war, it was still a terrible thing that could easily break the souls of men at the same time that it could end their lives with a bullet.

Cliff did not mention what happened when he was a prisoner and Dylan didn’t ask because he had noticed the nightmares Cliff sometimes had. He always got out of bed and went to smoke outside until dawn. Perhaps that is why Dylan convinced him to return to using his culinary skills to prepare some meals from their unit.

It seems that Cliff had already prepared some meals for his men before, so they were not surprised to taste the meals with pleasure. Henri said that when they asked the captain why he had learned to cook Cliff had replied that it was impossible not to learn something or other when his father was an incredible cook. Dylan knew it was a lie but didn't say anything. Cliff had told him the truth some years ago. The truth was Cliff had learned to cook with his father because he wanted to cook food to help Dylan stay healthier.

When Dylan finally received his dog tags, officially becoming a member of the army, Cliff surprised him by offering one of his dog tags in exchange for one of Dylan's. Despite not being in the army longer than Cliff, Dylan knew that dog tag exchanges had a special meaning. They were given to important people like family and wives. Not among friends. But they both had known for years that their relationship was far beyond the friendship they had.

"Is this your way of saying that the two of us are going to be together until the end of the world?" Dylan asked, looking at Cliff's dog tag in his hand to the man in front of him. "Something like that" he paused, changing his expression to something more serious "I love you, Dylan Ethan Wright. My heart will always be yours, as it always has been probably since the day we met" he approached and kissed Dylan's forehead "Even though we can never get married, this is close enough to make it official, right?"

Unable to hold back the tears of happiness, Dylan removed one of his dog tags by putting Cliff's in place, and then put his dog tag in Cliff's. "I love you too, Clifford Unger."

A few months later, Cliff's unit was tasked with capturing Dr. Amelie, the same person who had tortured and experimented with Cliff and his men, and Dylan considered going against orders to be able to kill this woman as soon as he found her, but he knew that Cliff would not let him do that as much as he understood him.

  
  


The mission would take place in the Alps on a moving train and would involve only Cliff, Dylan and Ryan while the rest would have to worry about securing their position. As soon as they got on the train they realized it had been a trap.

Ryan was tasked with stopping the train while Dylan and Cliff took care of the enemies that were scattered across the cars. Taking care of enemies would have been easy if they weren't wearing strange armor and using powerful weapons (more advanced than usual). 

Protecting each other is almost something automatic between Cliff and Dylan, but Cliff ended up being faster than Dylan by throwing himself in front of the enemy and eventually receiving the impact of the enemy's shot before Dylan could finally kill him. The impact of the enemy shot had opened a huge hole in the car where they were standing and Cliff ended up being thrown out of the train. By some miracle Cliff had managed to hold onto a part of the train, but it was looking like he would give in soon. Dylan managed to grab his hand before the part where Cliff was holding himself fell, but now he couldn't move because it looked like the railing he was holding on to would break if he pushed.

  
  


When Cliff released his hand to fall alone it didn't surprise Dylan because he knew him too well, but what surprised him was that he couldn't throw himself together because Ryan grabbed him and pulled him onto the train. He screamed and tried to free himself from his brother's arms, who insisted on hugging him tightly. Dylan didn't even notice when he started to cry and hide his face on Ryan's shoulder.

  
  


Rationally, Dylan knew that no one could survive a fall from that height, but even if it had a slight chance of Cliff being alive, he didn't mind spending days looking for him in the cold and snow. Even if it was just to find his body, Dylan would be satisfied to say goodbye properly.

He only managed to find Cliff's dog tag and a huge amount of blood staining the white snow.

Dylan tried to get drunk, but thanks to the serum it was impossible because his metabolism now worked differently. Gael met him at the bar and asked what he intended to do now. Ryan and Gael were the only ones who knew about Dylan and Cliff's love relationship, although they never told them anything.

  
  


"I'm going to kill every last one of them" said Dylan in a cold tone, while smoking a cigarette of the brand Cliff liked because the taste reminded him of his kisses.

It wasn’t necessary to ask who he was referring to, as it was quite obvious as well as the anger he felt for everything and for this world that had taken away from Dylan the only person who meant everything to him.

~ x ~

The group they fought from the beginning was known as HYDRA, a special sector of the Nazis that focused on technological advances and dubious experiments seeking power above all else. Dr. Amelie had worked and helped HYDRA for years, but after they captured her from the train she now worked for the United States. Higgs, the stranger masked man Dylan and Cliff had met the other day, was the crazy leader of that group.

  
  


In Dylan's eyes they should all die for what they did to Cliff, but unfortunately no one has let him be close to Dr. Amelie since what happened on the train. Even for those who didn't know the depth of Dylan's relationship with Captain Unger, his willingness to kill the doctor was clear.

Since killing the doctor who had been directly responsible for Cliff's death would not be possible for the time being, Dylan concentrated on eliminating Higgs and his men.

Dylan and Higgs finally met face to face when HYDRA was planning to bomb cities in the United States with a huge aircraft and, like their other weapons, more advanced than normal. Perhaps in another life or another time, Dylan would have had the patience to listen to Higgs' speech and crazy conversation, but he felt absolutely nothing about it and so he killed him without thinking twice.

The plane presents a series of malfunctions, as a result of the fight he had with Higgs and now the command could only be done manually, which meant that Dylan would have to make the plane land in the middle of the icy ocean before it ended up arriving in the cities. 

He explained his situation on the radio to Ryan, Gael and the Major. Ryan and Gael tried to convince him to change his mind or at least try to solve this problem in a way other than committing suicide along with the plane. The thought of finally being able to meet Cliff was too attractive to be denied and besides, knowing that he would protect everyone as Cliff would undoubtedly have done, made him feel happy to know that this would be the end of him.

  
  


Dylan couldn't say everything he wanted to his brother and friend, but he knew they would understand. Maybe not now, but one day. 

When the plane finally crashed into the ocean, Dylan felt the impact of the crash at the same time the cold surrounded him completely. He had never been so cold in his life, not even when he was sick from the flu or worse. In the next instant, Dylan felt nothing else and felt his conscience fade as if he were falling into a heavy sleep.

Dying like this didn't seem to be so bad.

~ x ~

The next time Dylan woke up and realized he wasn’t dead, someone told him that he had been frozen for almost 70 years and now he was in the future. It looked like a bad joke.

The future was everything Dylan had dreamed of seeing in terms of advancing technologies.

  
  


But at the same time, it was a strange place. As if he were not part of any of this, despite being here alive and breathing. Almost everyone he knew had died.

Amber and Ryan had died.

Gael too.

There was a woman very much like Amber, but different at the same time. She said her name was Christine. Amber's daughter with Heitor. His niece.

  
  


There was also a man who had the same green eyes as Gael called Bruce (same as Ryan's middle name). He was Gael's nephew and took care of the technology company founded by his uncle. Bruce said that his uncle and Ryan (yes, he had met Dylan's brother) had always told him stories about him. Dylan didn't know how to feel about that.

There were also heroes protecting and saving people every day.

The future really looked too strange.

Dylan didn’t believe it when they said that there was a museum made in honor of him and Cliff. Dylan knew that Cliff had started to acquire fame among the soldiers before he even saved him and that fame only increased over time, but he didn’t expect it to persist even in the future.

  
  


The museum was bigger than he imagined and was full of images, black and white videos, clothes, Cliff's motorcycle and texts about his life and Cliff's. They have been known throughout history as best friends, inseparable. It was strange to see himself as a kind of hero when he had never felt like that.

  
  


Cliff was the hero. Who did everything to save his men, who had gone to war to protect everyone and who sacrificed himself to save Dylan's life, even if he didn't think he deserved it. They called him "Captain America" and Dylan laughed knowing that Cliff would have hated that name.

Dylan stood there at the museum looking at a photograph of Cliff until closing time.

  
  


He didn't think it was possible to feel more alone than he had 70 years ago. It looks like he was wrong. Stuck here in the future, Dylan felt more lost than anything, almost like a ghost walking among the living. Once again, he thought it would have been better to have fallen with Cliff. At least that way they would be together.


End file.
